CMS

By: Heather Johnson, VGM Education
The new conditions of participation (CoPs) for home health agencies (HHAs) go into effect on January 13, 2018, following a six month delay from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The new CoPs revise the current conditions of participation that home health agencies are required to meet in order to participate in Medicare and Medicaid programs.
The rule is the first major revision in the home health CoPs in the last three decades...

By Dorothy de Souza Guedes, VGM Education
Cybersecurity is top priority for health care companies concerned about hacking that can expose patient information and result in HIPAA violations. But, have you thought about employee use of social media that may expose patients to privacy breaches?
In a memo to state survey agency directors on August 5, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) responded to reports of social media violations in nursing homes by mandating that facilities...

By Dorothy de Souza Guedes, VGM Education
Health care providers and people involved in medical billing and coding are well aware that ICD-10 went into effect on October 1. But those who aren't coders or billers may not understand what ICD-10 is -- or why people working in health care are stressed out this week.
People with a lot of time on their hands have found the humor in ICD-10 by discovering funny ICD-10 codes. HealthcareDive's Katie Bo Williams found a code for...

by Dorothy de Souza Guedes, VGM Education
How have you been sleeping? How about your customers? Your employees?
This month has been designated as Sleeptember by the American Sleep Apnea Association to create greater awareness about sleep health and risks associated with untreated sleep disorders. Four key sleep disorders listed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are insomnia, narcolepsy, restless leg syndrome and sleep apnea.
The National Sleep Foundation estimates 50 million...